Bitcoin: Learn what it is in a few words!

It’s a decentralized digital currency without a central bank or single administrator that can be sent from user to user on the peer-to-peer network without the need for intermediaries. It can be used to pay for things electronically, if both parties are willing.

They aren’t printed, like dollars or euros – they’re produced by computers all around the world. It was the first example of what we today call cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin was invented by an unknown person or group of people using the name Satoshi Nakamoto.

Currencies like dollars, euros, etc. have an unlimited supply (central banks can issue as many as they want, and can attempt to manipulate a currency’s value relative to others). Holders of the currency bear the cost. With bitcoin, on the other hand, the supply is tightly controlled by the underlying algorithm. A small number of new bitcoins trickle out every hour, and will continue to do so at a diminishing rate until a maximum of 21 million has been reached.

The smallest unit of a bitcoin is called a satoshi. It is one hundred millionth of a bitcoin (0.00000001)

Citation: Coindesk.com, Wikipedia

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